Born to run...

"I was born to run" said Anne-Marie and run she has! One of Maine's premier runners, she has run competitively for 30 years, beginning when she was a teenager with the Acton- Boxborough (Massachusetts) Girls Track Team competing in the half mile.

Anne-Marie actually began running in junior high school with her father when he starting jogging to increase his fitness level. As the eldest of four children, this was an opportunity for her to spend time with Dad and it set the stage for lifelong exercise habits.

After high school, Anne-Marie competed in the mile on the University of Maine's Women's Track team. During this time, it was evident that she had an aptitude for longer distances which required endurance. Anne-Marie ran her first marathon as a college senior in 1977. Her training regime consisted of a daily 10-mile run for six weeks with a goal to finish the Paul Bunyan Marathon course in Bangor. Anne-Marie completed the course taking third place in the women's division in 3:45:00. This race began her competitive career in distance road racing; to date she has competed in over 160 road races.

Anne-Marie's breakthrough in marathoning came five years later at the Casco Bay Marathon when she completed the course in 3:04:07, dropping 41 minutes from her previous marathon best. This was accomplished by improving her training techniques and the continued support of a group of runners in Norway, Maine. This success led to two new goals for Anne-Marie; a sub-3 hour marathon and qualification for the first Women's Olympic Trials Marathon. To achieve these goals, Anne-Marie enlisted assistance from Hebron Academy's Cross-country and Track Coach, Gino Valeriani. He taught her the importance of interval workouts and set a training schedule to improve her speed. As a result of his guidance and a lot of hard work, Anne-Marie made the Olympic Qualifying Standard with a personal best of 2:50:40 at the Bostonfest Marathon in October, 1983. The opportunity to compete with the top 200 women runners in the country in the first Women's Olympic Trials Marathon in Olympia, Washington was truly the highlight of her running career. She completed the Olympic Trial Marathon in 3:11:00.

Anne-Marie has completed 18 marathons as of this writing; three of them are sub-3 hour marathons, the Bostonfest, Boston Marathon and the Sugarloaf Marathon. At Sugarloaf in 1986, she won the women's division with a time of 2:54:40 and the following year she ran 3:03:59, finishing as the third female. The Boston Marathon was another of her favorites where she ran a 2:58:12 in 1983.

As a Registered Dietitian, Anne-Marie has combined her knowledge of good nutrition and proper training techniques to not only improve her marathon times, but improve at other distances. A versatile competitor, Anne-Marie has the following personal records:
Anne-Marie Davee Personal Bests
5K: Skyward Mother's Day in 1986 - 18:09
4 Mile: Maine Milk Run in 1987 - 24:54
5 Mile: Belfast in 1985 - 29:50
10K: Kingfield in 1983 - 37:00
15K: Schoodic Point in 1987 - 57:09
Half Marathon: Bangor in 1984 - 1:23:54

In addition to road racing, Anne-Marie has completed eight Mt. Washington Uphill Climb races between 1989 and 2000. Her best finish over the difficult 7.6 mile uphill course ranked her 13th female with a time of 1:29:20. She competed in another uphill cross-country run in 1987, the Blue Hill Mountain 10K, placing first female with a time of 45:01. She most recently won the Sugarloaf Uphill Climb, 2000, in 41:10. Anne-Marie has also completed two triathlons, winning the women's division in the Norway Triathlon in 1983 and placing in the top 10 women in the Camden Tinman Triathlon in 1993.

Anne-Marie has contributed to running in other ways as well. She has been an active member of the Central Maine Striders' for 12 years. She was awarded the honor of "Strider of the Year" in 1991. As a self-syndicated columnist and registered dietitian, she has helped many athletes with her knowledge of proper nutrition, physical training techniques and psychological conditioning to maximize one's chances for top performance and overall good health. In addition to her speaking presentations, her nutrition column has been carried in Mainely Running, Maine Running & Outing, the Connecticut Runner, New England Runner and Sports Nutrition News.

Currently, Anne- Marie lives in Pownal with her husband (also an avid runner) and two daughters who enjoy fun runs. She continues to burn up the roads as a master runner with the ongoing support of her family. A racer for 30 years, she will undoubtedly continue to be a formidable competitor setting the standard in the future for master and senior female runners.